Alan Zilberman

@alanzilberman.bsky.social

4283 Followers 523 Following

Film critic at Washington City Paper

Giant inflatable Jason Statham sitting on a barge in the River Thames right in front of London's Tower bridge
Subject: Frederick Wiseman fun facts!
A bunch of rock stars posing for what looks like a backstage photo in the mid-1990s.
One sees this happen with certain pictures. Once freed from the marketplace — from the expectations of industry journalists and box office prognosticators and audiences looking for something familiar and satisfying — these idiosyncratic works can be appreciated for what they actually are and not what we (and sometimes even their creators) want them to be. On a recent episode of the excellent film podcast Cows in the Field, director Whit Stillman talked about how his 1998 release The Last Days of Disco was initially considered a disappointment, and how the very factors that worked against it as a new release became virtues once it no longer had to compete in that arena: “When people first watch something…they go in with this critical judgmental thing, checking the boxes: Does this have narrative momentum? Does this have a coherent plot? Is this realistic? All these kind of obnoxious defenses against getting into something… Over time, that ungainliness, that weirdness, that not-very-normalness makes it possible to re-watch it sooner than some other films.”
McMahon excited meme: Kinda excited: Sunn O ))) do a "what's in my bag" video More excited: They talk about how much they admire Bill Orcutt Super excited: They talk about their fondness for Japanese classical music Beyond excited: They love the new Rosalía record
Washington DC vanity plate that says “HAILSTN” or “Hail Satan”
Directors Anthony and Joe Russo fall into the same missteps that have plagued Marvel films. This film ends with a lengthy showdown, one that’s drained of imagination or suspense. Heroes careen through the air, and without dialogue to share the Avengers’ strategy, the whole thing would be incoherent. Magic bullets are no replacement for well choreographed action, but the best Marvel films at least found an emotional core and the outcome did not feel forgone. That forgone conclusion also relates to the inherent problem that Infinity War cannot resolve: If vanquished heroes return, then that cheapens the circumstances of their tragic deaths.
Actually surprised myself with how little I care after watching that. Just don't remotely feel invested. I'm done. They should've ended on a high note with Endgame.
Post by Ariel Edwards-Levy‬: MAINE CHARACTER SYNDROME Reply by Alan Zilberman‬: BANGOR HEADLINE Another reply by Alan Zilberman: These stories are not BOWDOIN well for Platner’s chances.
Two Prosecutors (Dir.: Sergei Loznitsa) The hero of Two Prosecutors seals his fate almost immediately. His name is Kornyev (Aleksandr Kuznetsov), and he makes the mistake of simply asking questions at a Soviet prison during the Great Purge, a period where Joseph Stalin imprisoned, tortured and killed his political adversaries. Kornyev’s inquiry sets off an inexorable chain of events, but that does not mean writer and director Sergei Loznitsa’s film is always predictable. There are long, tense dialogue-heavy scenes where all the characters communicate through the subtext of a suffocating bureaucracy. Sometimes this can be funny in a deadpan way, a riff on Dr. Strangelove, but mostly Loznitsa (who is Ukrainian) opts for the tense kind of conversation where any superfluous detail could be a threat. What makes this so riveting is how Loznitsa trusts his performers, giving them time to think through unspoken consequences. Sometimes Kornyev thinks he has the upper hand – and for a moment, maybe he is right – at least until there is an unspoken conspiracy to sink him. Consider how the second prosecutor, Vyshinsky (Anatoliy Beliy), who listens to Kornyev’s complaint about the unfair treatment of a prisoner, with a mix of amusement and malice – sort of like how a snake might observe its prey. That tense dynamic almost slackens later when Kornyev takes the train home, only to meet two jovial men who are not what they seem. They betray their forced cheer through the closest thing Two Prosecutors has to a trial, a moment where strangers mock our hapless hero because he’s the wrong kind of Soviet. Rich with allegory and political implication, this is a searing indictment of more than Putin’s Russia. It relentlessly exposes how authoritarian control needs constant tending to be effective, which makes its endless perpetuation all the more arbitrary. – Alan Zilberman
Pastoral farm land with trees and a wood fence in the distance.
Penguin edition of The Beach by Alex Garland (better than the movie)
Selfie of me sitting on a couch wearing a red Q and Not U shirt that features an upside down DC flag.
Top films of 2026 (so far) 1. The Christophers (VOD) 2. Blue Heron (coming to Criterion Channel July 12) 3. Father Brother Sister Mother (MUBI) 4. Two Prosecutors (Criterion Channel) 5. Disclosure Day (In Theaters) 6. 28 Days Later: The Bone Temple (Netflix) 7. Tuner (VOD) 8. Silent Friend (VOD) 9. Pillion (HBO/Max) 10. Wasteman (VOD) 11. Is God Is (VOD) 12. Erupcja (VOD) 13. Send Help (Hulu) 14. Undertone (HBO/Max) 15. The Drama (VOD)
A little poodle mix annoyed I woke her up from a nap.
Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ to Skip Social Media Influencer Screenings Universal is going straight to professional critic screenings rather than having the usual "word-of-mouth screenings" for social media.
Is there an editor who has significantly guided or improved your work? Sasha Frere-Jones: All of them bc editors are angels. Steven Hyden, writer at Evil Speakers: Guided or improved—not really? Websites are like foxholes, in my experience. “If you’re a writer who needs your hand held, you seem like a pain in the ass” is the message that’s been or less communicated to me. To me, the best editors gave me space to do what I wanted to do, and the moral support I needed when I was lacking confidence.
Some cool looking Kurosawa-esque samurai MFers plus a woman in a kimono
Reddit comment from /r/washingtondc Discussion topic: Does anyone actually know what’s going on at the Great State Fair? Comment reply: I worked at Smithsonian, specifically raising money for 250th. What I want people to know is we secured millions of private philanthropy to host a month long Folklife Festival on the mall, “The Festival of Festivals”. Was going to feature well known festivals, think Burning Man, Farm Aid, Grand Ole Oprey etc. as well as smaller local and regional festivals from across the U.S. and territories. Goal was to feature truly the best and most beautiful creative expression in music, dance, arts and craft traditions, food, community etc. Can’t name names but plan was to have headliners every night for free concerts…. Think the types of names who might be affiliated with the aforementioned large festivals. Stars were willing to perform because was under banner of Smithsonian. It had to all be scrapped bc the administration would not release permits to host on the mall. The money went elsewhere, but our nation was robbed of what would have been a once in a generation cultural moment.
Twitter user @negaversace tweeted, "Is [pop star] a feminist? Is Mastercard a queer ally? Is this TV show my friend?"
A24 Fans Mourn Its Death After The Backrooms Studio Signs $75 Million Google AI Deal: ‘Membership Cancelled’ A24's 'artificial-intelligence research partnership' with Google DeepMind has, unsurprisingly, pissed off the studio's fanbase
The current homepage for Pitchfork with four separate stories about Olivia Rodrigo, including a cover story.
Although an AI replica might now get the same fee as a corporeal performer, using the replica can still save a lot of time and money. Instead of having to pay a crew for a week’s work in the New Mexico sun, the Voorheeses created new scenes with Kilmer entirely using AI. In some of them, Kilmer’s character even speaks an authentic 1920s version of the Navajo language, although the actor himself didn’t speak the language when he was alive. “As independent filmmakers, it’s the most freeing thing,” Coerte says. “I love working with talent. But AI allows us to really reduce the elements that make it so complicated and expensive to tell a story. My friends feel lucky if they get one movie or one pilot a year. If you’re working with filmmakers of the modern era, you’re gonna be able to make 10 feature films a year.” John believes that the traditional way of making films—shooting on a set with a human cast and crew—is going to become “a niche, bespoke thing, like theater productions.” As Deep as the Grave’s production process, meanwhile, will become the norm.